Praise the Orc! Chapter 42:

Chapter 42 – WATER (1)

There was smoke coming from the village in the distance .

Only Crockta and Jeremy noticed the faint smoke, as Blackmore and the other users were still laughing at the music playing .

There was a problem from the beginning . Jeremy stroked the handle of his sword, his tension subsiding . No matter what happened, it would fine as long as he had his sword . He was a swordsman, a born killer that even Derek acknowledged .

He was also aware from Derek that the orc was a powerful warrior .

“Mister, there is smoke,” The woman suddenly said .

Blackmore stopped playing his musical instrument .  “What’s going on?”

Smoke continued to emerge from the village, gradually covering the sky above the village .  Blackmore’s face stiffened .  “This… It looks like a fire . I should hurry . ”

Blackmore rushed towards the village with his musical instrument on his shoulders .  As Blackmore prepared to move, one user walked over and knocked him over .  Blackmore tumbled down to the ground . A corner of the musical instrument was destroyed . He lay on the floor and moaned .

“W-What…kuoohh…”

The users chuckled .

“It has already started . ”

“Hey, wait for me . ”

“There isn’t enough here to share . ”

Crockta watched the users talking .  Jeremy shrugged and pulled out his sword .

“Brother, didn’t I tell you?”

“……”

“This is why I hate the cursed ones . They are scum that will hit people in the back . ” Jeremy glanced at Crockta and added, “Of course, I will watch you more . ”

The users approached them . Unlike Blackmore, the two of them had weapons and one of them was an orc, so the users were cautious .

“Will you be okay against an orc?”

“Believe in me . ”

All of the users pulled out their weapons . The magician stepped back and prepared to support from the rear .

“If you kids are in danger, then call for me . ” The female user who first talked to Blackmore grinned .  “Anyway, our kids are in control of areas A1 to C4 . ”

Jeremy whistled . His long sword sparkled in the sun . It was small compared to Crockta’s sword, but the amount of human blood that had covered it was enough to make a small stream .

“Guys, don’t you see that this orc brother is angry? Do you want him to be angry? Do you want to bleed?” Jeremy joked around as he narrowed the distance . His movements were light .

Crockta also held his greatsword and lowered his center of gravity,  gathering enough momentum to break through at once .  Crockta scanned the area . It seemed that it was possible to take care of the front line, but the magician was the problem . He was already muttering something to complete a spell .

Magicians were always bothersome opponents .  Crockta carefully looked for gaps in the enemies .

At that moment… Crockta’s eyes widened .  Suddenly, the magician fell without a sound .  Blackmore was standing behind the magician . Blackmore met Crockta’s eyes and winked .  The crowd in front was still unaware of what happened to the magician . Crockta nodded and charged forward .

“Bul’tar──────!”

Shouting the battle cry of the orc warriors before battle had now become a habit .  Jeremy also ran after Crockta .  Crockta rushed and swung his greatsword, the users pushed back by the impact . Jeremy leapt from behind Crockta and instantly pierced a user’s neck with his sword .  He was like the wind .

The confused users yelled out, “Magic! Use it quickly! Why aren’t you using it?”

“What are you doing?”

Then they paled as they turned around .  Blackmore didn’t care as he looked at them with his foot on the magician’s chest . At that moment, the users felt sure of their deaths .

It seemed like they could already feel Crockta and Jeremy’s blades against their skin .

Their heads flew through the sky .

Crockta and Jeremy were too strong for them . They weren’t just ordinary people, or various minstrels passing by, but a real orc warrior and a notorious swordsman from the back alleys of the fugitive city of Anail .

The users’ bodies turned white .  It was the last of those cursed by the stars .  Their equipment fell to the ground . There was nothing that looked great . Besides, they needed to hurry to the village .

Blackmore immediately started running towards the village . Jeremy and Crockta looked at each other and ran after him .

The village was a terrible mess .  Several houses were burning .  Battles between NPCs and users were occurring in various places in the village .

Blackmore looked around and found a piece of farm equipment . He broke the edge and made it into a club, swinging it in the air .

Jeremy and Crockta glanced at each other as they saw it .  Blackmore’s actions were quite skilled . Blackmore squeezed the rod, like he was trying to regain some old senses, before running into battle .

Crockta and Jeremy also helped in the battles . The villagers were all farmers, but they used their equipment to fight against the users . Their attacks turned one or two users into white particles .

Crockta’s greatsword beheaded a user .

The users were too weak .  There were some decent ones, but the majority of them looked like beginners that had just started Elder Lord .  There were many people who ran away from Crockta’s fearsome appearance .

“Orc!”

“Run away! An orc!”

“Run away! Let’s go!”

“I’m scared!”

“Monster!”

The users hurriedly ran away .

“……” Crockta didn’t have a chance to fight properly with them .

Jeremy giggled and knocked against Crockta’s shoulder with a teasing attitude .  “Hey, Brother . Brother’s face, well, it no longer frightens me as much . Don’t take it personally . ”

“Noisy . ” Crockta turned around before adding something else .  “I am a handsome orc . ”

That’s right .  Crockta was a handsome orc . In Orcrox, the female NPCs often ogled him . He had customized his face to be as horrible as possible to make fun of his sister, but it seemed to be attractive to orcs .

Jeremy burst out laughing .

“By the way, what’s going on here? The cursed people are gathering together and attacking . Besides, aren’t they all weak?”

Crockta confirmed the equipment of the users that fell on the ground .  They were all Common grade equipment .

“I can roughly guess . ”

The users whom they defeated with Blackmore said that their area was from A1 to C4, and the users here had poor combat abilities .  The local characteristic of Chesswood was that the villages were scattered about in a checkered pattern .

The recurring evils that humans committed in online games were being repeated in Elder Lord .

“Blackmore! You came back!”

“Blackmore?”

There was a disturbance . The villagers finished fighting and discovered that Blackmore had returned .  However, their reaction wasn’t like what Crockta expected .  Rather, it was the opposite .

“Why did this guy all of a sudden…”

“I thought you left?”

They were reluctant to talk to Blackmore .  Some even spat on the ground, like he was unlucky .

Blackmore just looked down and touched his half-broken instrument .

 

***

“Haha . Blackmore, becoming a minstrel, I really can’t believe it . ”

Crockta and Jeremy stayed at the home of Blackmore’s uncle, Ingram . He was tall, sturdy, and looked very strong for his age .

“You didn’t originally leave your home to become a minstrel?” They asked .  

“Blackmore? This guy was completely…” Ingram grinned as he gaze at Blackmore .  “A bully . ”

“Ohh . ”

“I wasn’t that bad,” Blackmore pleaded .

“Weren’t you a gangster working for a private money lender?”

“What…?”

Blackmore dropped his head .

Jeremy couldn’t help shaking his head .  Crockta nodded in agreement .  Then he whispered to Jeremy, “A bully, a gangster . ”

“…Ugh . ” Jeremy struck Crockta with his elbow .

“All he knew was how to fight and how to wield a spear, and that was all he did in Chesswood . ”

“I didn’t do too badly . ”

“Blackmore became notorious in Chesswood . He was a called a cruel bastard, a man with no feelings . ”

Under the full moon, Ingram treated the two humans and one orc to his homemade beer . The taste was quite good .  Crockta thought it was comparable to the beer that he drank in Orcrox .

“I regret it,” Blackwood said .

“Yes, I didn’t hear from you after you left Chesswood . So how did you become a minstrel?”

Blackmore’s explanation wasn’t long .

After leaving Chesswood, he wandered from place to place . With his skills, there was work wherever he went . He worked as a mercenary, a soldier, an escort, and various other things, but there was always regret in his heart .  He made money from people’s suffering .

Then by chance, he saw a minstrel playing at a pub .  The minstrel’s skills weren’t that great, but he saw people laughing and having fun . Blackmore was eating expensive food in a room that was much more expensive than theirs, but he seemed more unhappy .

Thus, he abandoned everything and became a minstrel . That was 10 years ago .

“The most emotionless person is doing the most sentimental job in the world . ”

Blackmore laughed bitterly, “Isn’t it because of that child?”

“……”

Blackmore gulped down his beer and asked, “How is she?’

“Married . ”

“To who?”

“A decent person . ”

“Then that’s fine . Say no more . ”

Blackmore also seemed to have his own story of heartbreak . His mood became so heavy that Ingram, Crockta, and Jeremy couldn’t open their mouths .  Blackmore changed the topic and spoke, “The people cursed by the stars keep coming?”

“Yes, it’s serious . I tried to ask for help but…”

The villages united to block the attacks of those cursed by the stars, but it was getting harder .

Crockta’s eyes sunk .  This area must’ve been designated as a hunting ground to level up, with the areas distributed between different clans .  It was rare for NPCs with high levels to be scattered around villages like these . There were also no professional guards .

The best hunting ground . In addition, the clans would be controlling the hunting grounds in order to monopolize it .

“Tomorrow, the Chesswood village leaders have decided to meet to discuss the problem,” Ingram said .

Blackmore continued to drink before rising from his seat .  “Uncle, I have become a minstrel, so I will sing you a song . However, my instrument is broken . ”

“Hoh, is it a song that you made?”

“That’s right . I missed this place, so I made a song for Chesswood . ”

“If it’s terrible, then I’ll stop listening straight away . ”

“Of course . ”

Then Blackmore started to sing .  Unlike Ingram’s worries, it was a wonderful melody . The introductory part was strangely sad, but then it became more exciting .

The audience clapped in time with him .  As they listened to the lyrics, they felt like they were the narrator rejoicing as he ran towards his hometown .

“I have travelled to many places in the world, always looking for new things . But I realized something . I had already found the things that I was looking for . ”

“……”

“Dancing under the moonlight, singing in the rain . Oh! I’m happy to be back home! Laughing under the sun, running along different trails . Ah! I’m happy to be back home!”